Dear Editor,

I have just returned home after studying for a year in Germany. But it seems that my parents don’t understand me now. They expect me to be the same person I was before I went abroad, but I’m not! Why can’t they let me be myself?

Jimmy

Hi, Jimmy,

As far as I know, people who have lived abroad often find that the adjustment （调整） to returning home is more difficult than their adjustment to living in a foreign culture. Why? We expect to have some problems when we go to a new place, speak a different language and learn the rules of a different culture ... But home? ... we know that place!

Your parents expect that the same person who boarded the airplane one year ago will be returning. Especially if they have never been abroad themselves, your parents probably won’t understand the changes that living abroad can cause in a person. On the other hand, you may have maintained (保持) an ideal mental image of your loved ones while abroad, an image that is broken into pieces when you return.

Remember you have been living a different lifestyle in your host country, and you have probably become very independent while staying there alone. Now that you’re home, you will be expected to conform （顺应） again to the lifestyle of your family. As a result, you may be upset about your parents’ involvement in your life.

Communication is the key to overcoming this problem. Tell your parents how you are feeling. Share with them information about cultural re-entry（重归）, and ask them to be patient. This does not mean that you have to forget your experience and give up everything you’ve learned! Learn to find a balance between the old and new, just as you did when first adjusting to your host country’s culture.

1.What is Jimmy’s main purpose in writing the letter?

A．To criticize his parents.

B．To ask for advice about his studies.

C．To complain about his parents.

D．To ask for help.

2.What does the editor think of Jimmy’s problem?

A．It’s unusual.      B．It’s normal.       C．It’s serious.       D．It’s interesting.

3.The editor thinks that both Jimmy and his parents ______.

A．have changed in the past year

B．have unrealistic expectations of each other

C．need to behave like they did before

D．need to find a balance between the good and bad

4.The author suggests that ______ would help solve Jimmy’s problem.

A．patience and trust

B．patience and politeness

C．better communication between family members

D．a deeper understanding of the host country’s culture

Dear Editor,
I have just returned home after studying for a year in Germany. But it seems that my parents don’t understand me now. They expect me to be the same person I was before I went abroad, but I’m not! Why can’t they let me be myself?
Jimmy
Hi, Jimmy,
As far as I know, people who have lived abroad often find that the adjustment （调整） to returning home is more difficult than their adjustment to living in a foreign culture. Why? We expect to have some problems when we go to a new place, speak a different language and learn the rules of a different culture ... But home? ... we know that place!
Your parents expect that the same person who boarded the airplane one year ago will be returning. Especially if they have never been abroad themselves, your parents probably won’t understand the changes that living abroad can cause in a person. On the other hand, you may have maintained (保持) an ideal mental image of your loved ones while abroad, an image that is broken into pieces when you return.
Remember you have been living a different lifestyle in your host country, and you have probably become very independent while staying there alone. Now that you’re home, you will be expected to conform （顺应） again to the lifestyle of your family. As a result, you may be upset about your parents’ involvement in your life.
Communication is the key to overcoming this problem. Tell your parents how you are feeling. Share with them information about cultural re-entry（重归）, and ask them to be patient. This does not mean that you have to forget your experience and give up everything you’ve learned! Learn to find a balance between the old and new, just as you did when first adjusting to your host country’s culture.
【小题1】What is Jimmy’s main purpose in writing the letter?

Dear Editor,
I have just returned home after studying for a year in Germany. But it seems that my parents don’t understand me now. They expect me to be the same person I was before I went abroad, but I’m not! Why can’t they let me be myself?
Jimmy
Hi, Jimmy,
As far as I know, people who have lived abroad often find that the adjustment （调整） to returning home is more difficult than their adjustment to living in a foreign culture. Why? We expect to have some problems when we go to a new place, speak a different language and learn the rules of a different culture ... But home? ... we know that place!
Your parents expect that the same person who boarded the airplane one year ago will be returning. Especially if they have never been abroad themselves, your parents probably won’t understand the changes that living abroad can cause in a person. On the other hand, you may have maintained (保持) an ideal mental image of your loved ones while abroad, an image that is broken into pieces when you return.
Remember you have been living a different lifestyle in your host country, and you have probably become very independent while staying there alone. Now that you’re home, you will be expected to conform （顺应） again to the lifestyle of your family. As a result, you may be upset about your parents’ involvement in your life.
Communication is the key to overcoming this problem. Tell your parents how you are feeling. Share with them information about cultural re-entry（重归）, and ask them to be patient. This does not mean that you have to forget your experience and give up everything you’ve learned! Learn to find a balance between the old and new, just as you did when first adjusting to your host country’s culture

1. 1.

   What is Jimmy’s main purpose in writing the letter?

   1. A.
      To criticize his parents
   2. B.
      To ask for advice about his studies
   3. C.
      To complain about his parents
   4. D.
      To ask for help
2. 2.

   What does the editor think of Jimmy’s problem?

   1. A.
      It’s unusual
   2. B.
      It’s normal
   3. C.
      It’s serious
   4. D.
      It’s interesting
3. 3.

   The editor thinks that both Jimmy and his parents ______

   1. A.
      have changed in the past year
   2. B.
      have unrealistic expectations of each other
   3. C.
      need to behave like they did before
   4. D.
      need to find a balance between the good and bad
4. 4.

   The author suggests that ______ would help solve Jimmy’s problem

   1. A.
      patience and trust
   2. B.
      patience and politeness
   3. C.
      better communication between family members
   4. D.
      a deeper understanding of the host country’s culture

Dear Editor,

     I have just returned home after studying for a year in Germany. But it seems that my parents don’t understand me now. They expect me to be the same person I was before I went abroad, but I’m not! Why can’t they let me be myself?

                                                              Jimmy

Hi, Jimmy,

     As far as I know, people who have lived abroad often find that the adjustment （调整） to returning home is more difficult than their adjustment to living in a foreign culture. Why? We expect to have some problems when we go to a new place, speak a different language and learn the rules of a different culture ... But home? ... we know that place!

     Your parents expect that the same person who boarded the airplane one year ago will be returning. Especially if they have never been abroad themselves, your parents probably won’t understand the changes that living abroad can cause in a person. On the other hand, you may have maintained (保持) an ideal mental image of your loved ones while abroad, an image that is broken into pieces when you return.

       Remember you have been living a different lifestyle in your host country, and you have probably become very independent while staying there alone. Now that you’re home, you will be expected to conform （顺应） again to the lifestyle of your family. As a result, you may be upset about your parents’ involvement in your life.

       Communication is the key to overcoming this problem. Tell your parents how you are feeling. Share with them information about cultural re-entry（重归）, and ask them to be patient. This does not mean that you have to forget your experience and give up everything you’ve learned! Learn to find a balance between the old and new, just as you did when first adjusting to your host country’s culture.

60. What is Jimmy’s main purpose in writing the letter?

A. To criticize his parents.  

B. To ask for advice about his studies.

C. To complain about his parents.   

D. To ask for help.

61. What does the editor think of Jimmy’s problem?

A. It’s unusual.  B. It’s normal.   C. It’s serious.     D. It’s interesting.

62. The editor thinks that both Jimmy and his parents ______.

A. have changed in the past year

B. have unrealistic expectations of each other

C. need to behave like they did before

D. need to find a balance between the good and bad

63. The author suggests that ______ would help solve Jimmy’s problem.

A. patience and trust

B. patience and politeness

C. better communication between family members

D. a deeper understanding of the host country’s culture

Veronica
By Mary Gaitskill.
Pantheon Books, $ 23.
This attractively dark novel from the author of Bad Behavior and Two Girls, Fat and Thin is narrated by a former Paris model who is now sick and poor; her reflections on beauty and cruelty have clarity and an uncanny bite.
On Beauty
By Zadie Smith.
Penguin Press, $ 25.95
In her new book, a cultural – politics novel set in a place like Harvard, the author of White Teeth brings everything to the table: a crisp intellect, a lovely wit and enormous sympathy for the men, women and children who read her story.
Saturday
By Ian McEwan.
Nan A. Talese / Doubleday. $ 26.
As exciting and as carefully constructed as anything McEwan has written, this astringent (尖锐的) novel traces a day in the life of an English neurosurgeon who comes face to face with senseless violence.
De Kooning: An American Master
By Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan.
Alfred A. Knopf, $ 35.
A brilliant biography, impressively researched and absorbingly written, of the talented immigrant who stood at the vortex (中心) of mid – 20th – century American art.
A History of Europe Since 1945
By Tony Judt.
Penguin Press, $ 39.95.
Judt’s massive, learned, truthfully detailed account of Europe’s recovery from the wreckage of World War Ⅱpresents a whole continent in panorama (全景) even as it sets off detonations (爆炸) of insight on almost every page.
1．According to the passage, the most probable non – fiction novel is          .
A．Veronica         B．Saturday
C．On Beauty              D．A History of Europe Since 1945
2．If you’re fond art, which of the following would be your favorite?
A．On Beauty              B．Saturday
C．Veronica          D．De Kooning : An American Master
3．The novels published by the same company are           .
A．On Beauty & A History of Europe Since 1945
B．Saturday & De Kooning : An American Master
C．Veronica & On Beauty
D．A History of Europe Since 1945 & Saturday
4．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Mary Gaitskill is the author of both Veronica and Bad Behaviour.
B．On Beauty describes the stories that happened in Harvard.
C．Two authors finished De Kooning : An American Master together.
D．A post – war Europe can be found in A History of Europe Since 1945.
5．Which of the following novels are written by Zadie Smith?
A．On Beauty & Bad Behavior
B．Saturday & De Kooning : An American Master
C．On Beauty & White Teeth
D．Veronica & White Teeth